The present invention relates to tag devices to be attached to articles such as bags for preventing the article from being stolen or unlawfully brought out of a predetermined monitoring area.
Tag devices of the type mentioned already known comprise a tag body and a wire having a base end fixed to the tag body and a forward end provided with a lock pin which is connected to the tag body as releasably locked thereto. The tag device is attached to an article by unlocking the lock pin from the tag body, winding the wire around the article and thereafter locking the lock pin to the tag body.
When an attempt is made to bring out the article having the tag device thus attached thereto from a predetermined monitoring area (for example, from a store), the tag device receives radio waves (alarm actuating signal) emitted from an entrance-exit gate, whereupon a buzzer in the tag body goes on, giving notice of the occurrence of theft. Alternatively if it is attempted to cut the wire of the tag device attached to the article and bring out the article only from the monitoring area, the break in the wire is detected by the tag body, whereupon the buzzer in the tag body goes on, giving notice of the occurrence of theft.
With the conventional tag device, the lock pin attached to the forward end of the wire is locked to the tag body by pushing the lock pin into a metal latch member to thereby engage the latch member with the lock pin, and is released from the tag body by elastically deforming the latch member with use of an unlocking member and thereby disengaging the latch member from the lock pin. In order to lock the lock pin to the tag body by the latch member reliably, therefore, the portion of the latch member to be engaged with the lock pin needs to be as high as possible in rigidity (difficulty of elastic deformation) so as not to elastically deform easily under the action of an impact or the like.
Nevertheless, giving high rigidity to the portion of the latch member to be engaged with the lock pin requires a great force for unlocking the lock pin with use of the unlocking member, entailing the problem of making the unlocking member difficult to use. Even if the unlocking member is driven by a solenoid or the like, there arises the problem of necessitating a great electric power. Additionally, the higher the rigidity of the engagement portion of the latch member for the lock pin, the greater is the elastic repulsive force involved in the engagement. Since the elastic repulsive force acts toward the direction unlocking, there is a likelihood that the lock pin will be unlocked when subjected to a small impact.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a tag device which is adapted to realize a reliable locked state and yet which ensures facilitated unlocking.
The present invention provides a tag device comprising a tag body 10 and a wire 2 fixed at a base end 21 thereof to the tag body 10 and having a lock pin 22 attached to a forward end 23 thereof. The lock pin 22 has a thick rod portion 26 at an outer end of a thin rod portion 25. The tag body 10 comprises a case 1 having a pin insertion hole 13 permitting the lock pin 22 to pass therethrough, and a latch member 3 disposed inside the case 1 and engageable with the lock pin 22 as inserted through the hole 13.
The latch member 3 comprises a main body 31 supported inside the case 1 and reciprocatingly movable in directions orthogonal to the direction of insertion of the lock pin 22, and a spring piece 32 provided on the main body 31 and elastically shiftable in a direction intersecting the direction of insertion of the lock pin 22. The latch member 3 permits the spring piece 32 to be opposed to the thin rod portion 25 of the lock pin 22 in an inserted position to prevent the thick rod portion 26 from moving in a slipping-off direction when moved in one direction to a limit position, and permits the spring piece 32 to be positioned away from the thin rod portion 25 of the lock pin 22 in the inserted position to allow the thick rod portion 26 to move in the slipping-off direction when moved in the other direction to a limit position.
According to the tag device of the invention, with the latch member 3 moved in the above-mentioned one direction to the limit position, the lock pin 22 is pushed into the latch member 3 through the pin insertion hole 13 in the tag body 10, whereby the thick rod portion 26 of the lock pin 22 is moved past the spring piece 32 of the latch member 3, positioning the thin rod portion 25 as opposed to the spring piece 32. In this process, the spring piece 32 of the latch member 3 is elastically deformed by sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the thick rod portion 26 and is thereafter opposed to the outer peripheral surface of the thin rod portion 25 to elastically restore itself. As positioned in proximity to the outer peripheral surface of the thin rod portion 25, the spring piece 32 prevents the thick rod portion 26 from moving in the slipping-off direction (locked state). Accordingly, even if an external force acts in a direction to withdraw the lock pin 22 from the tag body 10, the thick rod portion 26 bears on the spring piece 32 of the latch member 3, whereby the lock pin 22 is prevented from slipping out of the tag body.
When the lock pin 22 is to be lawfully handled for removal from the tag body 10, the latch member 3 is moved in the other direction to the corresponding limit position, and the lock pin 22 is thereafter pulled out from the tag body 10. The movement of the latch member 3 moves the spring piece 32 away from the thin rod portion 25 of the lock pin 22, permitting the thick rod portion 26 to move in the slipping-off direction, so that the lock pin thick rod portion 26 moves without being restrained by the spring piece 32, slipping out of the pin insertion hole 13 of the tag body 10.
The movement of the latch member 3 between the locking position and the unlocking position merely involves slight frictional resistance offered to the latch member 3 by the neighboring members. The latch member 3 can therefore be driven reciprocatingly without requiring any great force.
Stated more specifically, the thick rod portion 26 of the lock pin 22 is provided at an outer end thereof with a tapered face 27 for elastically shifting the spring piece 32 of the latch member 3 by pushing with the insertion of the lock pin 22. Accordingly, while the lock pin 22 is being pushed into the latch member 3, the tapered face 27 of the lock pin 22 comes into pressing contact with the spring piece 32 of the latch member 3 and elastically shifts the spring piece. Thus, the thick rod portion 26 of the lock pin 22 is brought into sliding contact with the latch member spring piece 32.
Further stated more specifically, the tag body 10 has incorporated therein a solenoid 5 for reciprocatingly driving the latch member 3 by an attracting/releasing movement of a rod 51, and a control circuit for controlling the operation of the solenoid 5. The latch member 3 can then be reciprocatingly moved between a locking position and an unlocking position by the rod 51 attracting/releasing movement of the solenoid 5.
The solenoid 5 as unenergized retains a locking operative state, for example by virtue of the magnetic force of a permanent magnet incorporated therein, to hold the latch member 3 moved to a lock pin 22 locking position. Accordingly, no electric power is required for holding the latch member 3 in the locking position, hence a reduction in power consumption.
The solenoid 5 is provided with a spring 53 for biasing the rod 51 from the locking operative state toward an unlocking operative state. Accordingly, the force required for moving the latch member 3 from the locking position to the unlocking position is partly provided by the elastic restoring force of the spring 53.
Further stated more specifically, the tag body 10 has a switch 6 for detecting the movement of the latch member 3 from the lock pin locking position to the unlocking position where the lock pin 22 is unlocked, and the control circuit commands the solenoid 5 to perform a locking operation upon detecting the unlocking operative state based on a detection signal from the switch 6. Accordingly, even when the latch member 3 or the solenoid 5 in the locking position or state is subjected, for example, to a great impact to bring the rod 51 of the solenoid 5 into the unlocking operative state and release the lock pin, this situation is detected by the switch 6, whereupon the solenoid 5 is given a command to perform a locking operation. The latch member 3 is therefore driven to the locking position immediately after unlocking to resume the locking state.
Further stated more specifically, the control circuit holds the solenoid 5 in an unlocking operative state only for a specified period of time in response to an unlocking signal. Accordingly, when the lock pin 22 is to be removed from the tag body 10 by a lawful procedure, an unlocking signal is sent to the tag body 10, and the lock pin 22 is thereafter pulled out of the tag body 10 before the lapse of the specified period of time.
Further stated more specifically, the tag body 10 has a buzzer 8 incorporated therein, and the control circuit gives an alarm command to the buzzer 8 upon receiving an alarm actuating signal or upon detecting a break in the wire 2, with the lock pin 22 locked by the latch member 3. The buzzer 8 actuated then gives notice of a wrongful act.
Further stated more specifically, the control circuit gives an alarm stop command to the buzzer 8 upon receiving an alarm cancel signal during alarming or when alarming continues for a predetermined period of time. The buzzer 8 is then brought out of operation by sending the alarm cancel signal to the tag body 10 during alarming or by allowing the alarming operation to continue only for the predetermined period of time.
Further stated more specifically, upon the control circuit receiving an alarm actuating signal or detecting a break in the wire 2, with the lock pin 22 locked by the latch member 3, the control circuit wirelessly emits an alarm information signal giving notice of the situation. An unlawful act can then be found by monitoring the reception of an alarm information signal, for example, in a monitoring room.
The tag device embodying the invention as described above is adapted to realize a reliable locking state by using a locking mechanism wherein the spring piece 32 of the latch member 3 is deeply engaged with the lock pin 22, also realizing a facilitated unlocking procedure by using an unlocking mechanism wherein the latch member 3 is moved away from the lock pin 22.